Student Fee Regulations 2014-15

Student Fee Regulations 2014-15 Index of Contents Section Content Page 1 Fee Definitions 2 2 Tuition Fees 2-6 2.5 Enrolment requirements 2.7 2.11 Undergraduate UK/EU tuition fees 3 2.12 2.13 Postgraduate research tuition fees 3 3 Tuition Fee Payment Policies 4 3.4 Early payment discount 4 3.5 Tuition Fee Loan 4 3.6 Career and Professional Development Loan 5 3.7 US Federal Loans 5 4 Withdrawal, Interruption, Termination of Study 5 5 Failure to Pay Tuition Fees 6 5.2 Late payment charges 6 5.4 College disciplinary action 7 *Procedural change to section 5.4 on 18 th February 2015, approved by College Excecutive* 5.5 5.8 Other actions for non-payment 8 6 Accommodation and Additional Fees 8 6.1 Standard payment dates 8 6.3 Contract fee 8 7 Failure to Pay Accommodation and Additional Fees 9 7.2 Late payment charges 9 7.4 Notice to quit College accommodation 9 7.5 Legal recovery action 9 8 Refund of Fees 9 9 Royal Holloway Alumni Bursary 10 1

1. Definition of Student Fees Within these Regulations By enrolling on a programme of study with Royal Holloway University of London, you agree to comply with the terms of these regulations. 1.1 Tuition the fee payable for the teaching, facilities, provision of services, materials relating to a programme of study 1.2 Tuition related - any fees payable that relate to the programme of study and not covered under tuition above. E.g. additional fieldwork costs, specialist equipment, library charges/costs etc. 1.3 Accommodation contracted charges for rent within Royal Holloway halls of residence. 1.4 Additional Fees late payment charges, disciplinary fines, short term loans etc. 2. Tuition Fees 2.1 Royal Holloway charges annual tuition fees for standard undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. These fees are reviewed annually and are subject to increase. 2.2 Tuition fees will be invoiced annually and a copy made available via the Finance tab within the Campus Connect student portal. An email notification will be sent to the student s Royal Holloway email address only. Students with a personal fee liability are responsible for sending this invoice for payment to the payer e.g. parents, guardians, for settlement in accordance with these regulations. 2.3 Students are personally liable for tuition fees for the duration of their studies. This includes students who have a sponsorship or tuition fee loan via Student Finance (Student Loans Company, SLC). If the sponsor or SLC fail to settle the fees, or the payment is withdrawn, the student will be invoiced immediately for payment. 2.4 Student fee status is assessed during application and determined as either UK/EU or International based on information provided. Students may query fee status by completion of the fee status questionnaire and submit to Admissions with the appropriate documentation. Decisions of the Admissions Office are final. 2.5 Enrolment is not permitted unless; the full year personal tuition fee liability is paid in advance of the start of the programme, or 50% of the full year personal tuition fee liability is paid in advance of the start of the programme, or confirmation of an approved sponsor is held by Royal Holloway, or a student is receiving an approved external or Royal Holloway scholarship to cover the full fee, or a student holds an approved tuition fee loan from Student Finance relating to the correct university, academic year, course and course year 2

2.6 Students with tuition fees or sponsorship/tuition loan confirmation outstanding 21 days after the start of the programme may have their registration terminated in accordance with the Failure to Enrol policy. 2.7 Undergraduate UK/EU Tuition Fees may be funded via a tuition fee loan paid directly to Royal Holloway by the Student Loans Company (SLC). Applications for tuition loans should be made directly to Student Finance England for residents of England and EU countries. Residents of Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland should apply through Student Finance Wales, Student Finance Northern Ireland and the Student Awards Agency for Scotland respectively. 2.8 The SLC will fund a first undergraduate degree for the number of years duration of the registered course plus 1 year only. Students will be required to self-fund additional years of study. 2.9 Undergraduate resit fees must be paid prior to the examination(s) or prior to enrolment, whichever is the earlier. Students are not eligible for a tuition fee loan to cover resit fees. The charge is 85 per half unit or 170 per whole unit to a maximum of 400. 2.10 Some field trips may not be covered by the tuition fee and will not be eligible for a tuition fee loan. Payment of field trip fees must be made in advance as per the conditions of the department. 2.11 Fees for a year abroad are charged in accordance with HEFCE guidelines and are published annually https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studyhere/undergraduate/feesandfunding/tuitionfees /home.aspx 2.12 Postgraduate Research students; writing up fee for students previously in full-time mode of study is 380. The fee for students previously in part-time study is 190 in 2014-15. Submissions within the writing up year are eligible for a pro-rata refund. extension fee (extension agreed to writing up year) is charged at 380 for a 6 month period students required to resubmit their thesis will be charged an 18 month resubmission fee - 290 for PhD students and 230 for MPhil students 2.13 Some departments may charge a bench fee to research students for additional materials, travel, fieldwork or equipment costs. Students will be notified of these additional fees via the department and the fee added to the student fees account. Bench fees must be settled in full at, or before, enrolment and are not eligible for deferred/instalment payment arrangements. 2.14 No tuition fee liability will normally be incurred for the main programme of study under the following circumstances: 3

i) if Royal Holloway cancels the programme; ii) if an applicant declines a place on the programme prior to the start of the academic year; iii) if a student withdraws within three weeks of the start of a full-year programme (defined as the first day of the new academic session for undergraduate students), an administrative charge of 50 will be made. 3. Tuition Fee Payment Policies 3.1 All self-funding undergraduate and postgraduate Students have the following payment options; in full before, or at, enrolment 50% before, or at, enrolment with the remaining 50% payable by 12 th January 2015 3.2 The Student Fees Office may, in exceptional circumstances, agree an extended instalment arrangement for tuition fee payment. If agreed, an instalment administration fee of 100 will be applied. 3.3 All accepted payment methods are detailed online. We encourage online payment where possible. https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/ecampus/finance/feepayments/home.aspx 3.4 Students with personal tuition fee liabilities enrolling on full year, standard degree-level programmes starting in September are eligible to receive an early payment discount of 2% on their personal tuition fee liability (greater than 500) if the College receives payment of the full year s fees AND if online sign up has been completed on or before 2 nd September 2014. Payments received and /or online sign up completed after that date will not be eligible. The discount does not apply to; Students enrolled on modular/block modes of study Pre-sessional courses Students enrolled on the International Foundation Year Other non-degree level programmes, including those of less than 1 year duration Students receiving a tuition loan via Student Finance, US Federal loan or a PCDL bank loan Students who fail to complete a full year of study Students enrolling outside of the standard academic year cycle may be considered for a tuition fee discount providing online sign up has been completed, and fee payment received, no later than 21 days before their commencement date (as defined by the student record). 3.5 UK and EU students funding their study via a Student Finance tuition fee loan must ensure an approved loan is in place prior to enrolment in the form of a Final Financial Notification Letter. Students may be asked to provide this notification during enrolment 4

if Royal Holloway has not received electronic data in advance. Tuition fee loan payments are made directly from the SLC to Royal Holloway. Undergraduate students wishing to borrow less than the maximum tuition fee loan available will be required to pay their liability at enrolment, or a minimum payment of 50%. If a tuition loan has not been approved, or the Student Fees Office believe that the student is not eligible for a loan for the forthcoming academic year, enrolment will be denied without full payment (or a payment arrangement) to cover the full 9,000 tuition fee for 2014-15. 3.6 Postgraduate students holding an approved Career and Professional Development Loan (PCDL) at enrolment are required to make full payment of their personal fee liability (if applicable). The registration number for Royal Holloway is 5517. 3.7 American Student Federal Loans/Federal Aid. International students from the United States of America may opt to make payment of their tuition fees via a Federal Loan. This may be arranged via the International Funding Coordinator. Disbursements are made across three terms and tuition and accommodation fees are deducted before any balance paid (to a UK bank account). No charge is made by Royal Holloway for termly tuition instalments on this basis. Should the loan value fail to cover fees costs, the student is liable for the balance on a termly basis. E.g. due to currency fluctuations or loan approval limit. 3.8 Postgraduate Research students self-funding all, or part, of their tuition fees are required to make payment either at the start of the academic year for September/October commencements, or on the anniversary of their start date. For the latter, an invoice will be issued in advance of the anniversary with a due date to be observed. Postgraduate research fees for students not commencing at the start of the academic year will be charged the rates prevailing at the start of their study year. 3.9 Students are responsible for ensuring payment is made to Royal Holloway for any shortfall of payment relating to bank charges/deductions. Should a cheque or banker s draft be returned unpaid, a 20 administrative charge is raised to the student account and is immediately payable. 4. Withdrawal, Interruption of Study and Termination of Registration 4.1 Students who withdraw will normally be liable for tuition fees as follows: (i) withdrawals after the end of the third week of the first term and before the end of the 1st week of the 2nd term (i.e. for standard term programmes between 11th October 2014 and 16th January 2015): the student is liable for 33% of the tuition fee (ii) withdrawals before the end of the 2nd term (i.e. between 17th January 2015 and 27 th March 2015 for standard term programmes): the student is liable for 66% of the tuition fee 5

(iii) withdrawals after the end of the 2nd term (i.e. from 28 th March 2015 onwards for standard term programmes): the student is liable for 100% of the tuition fee Please note: Separate terms and conditions apply to pre-sessional and modular taught programmes. (iv) UK/EU undergraduate students holding an approved tuition loan for fees at the time of withdrawal will be subject to the following liabilities within the dates specified in 4.1 (i) (iii) above; (i) 25% liability (ii) 50% liability (iii) 100% liability For these students, repayment is to be made directly to the Student Loans Company. 4.2 Instalment arrangements agreed will be invalidated on withdrawal of study. 4.3 When a student is suspended or asked to leave the College under any Disciplinary Regulations, 100% of the tuition fee remains due irrespective of the date of suspension or termination. 4.4 Students interrupting study will have a pro-rata fee calculation according to their level of study (undergraduate/postgraduate) and in accordance with the interruption form guidelines. Any overpayment of tuition fee at the point of interruption is held on account and offset on resumption of study. If the invoice has been underpaid at the point of interruption, students will be required to settle these fees immediately and may not be settled on return. Note: the rate of tuition fee will be charged at the rate set for the academic year on return to study and not that of the year of interruption. 4.5 Where a student transfers to or from another institution within an academic year they may incur a personal tuition fee liability should the balance of a fee loan fail to cover the tuition fee invoiced (where a partial payment has been made to another institution). 5. Failure to Pay - Tuition and Tuition Related Fees 5.1 Students who fail to pay fees in accordance with this policy will be reminded by the Student Fees Office once the tuition fee invoice, or agreement date, falls overdue. Initial contact is always made by email to the @royalholloway.ac.uk address. 5.2 A late payment charge will be applied to all invoices overdue 14 days following the agreed due date. 5.3 A further attempt will be made by the Student Fees Office to contact students. This contact may be made via email, telephone or letter (or a combination of these). Students will be given a further 7 days to settle the invoice or arrange an acceptable, short term, repayment arrangement. 6

5.4 Students with tuition/tuition related fees remaining outstanding after this second communication will be subject to disciplinary action as below; (i) (ii) (iii) those students failing to make contact, or agree a suitable short term payment plan, with the Student Fees Office will be advised by the Head of Student Fees that their academic department is to be notified that the student has failed to comply with the College regulations and faces disciplinary action. The department may be asked to provide an academic progress report. The Head of Student Fees (or the nominated representative) will submit a list of students to the Registrar (or the nominated representative) who will be asked to terminate the registration of the student. Lists may be submitted twice annually; during week 8 or 9 of the Spring Term and week 6 of the Summer Term. Readmission following termination is not normally considered. In exceptional circumstances, readmission will be at the absolute discretion of the Principal or Registrar and will only take effect the following academic year. (iv) Appeals against the termination of registration may only be made on the following grounds; That the termination was not in accordance with procedures set out in these regulations, or were contrary to natural justice. That fresh evidence can be presented, which was not available, or could not reasonably have been made available. Students are expected to be aware of these and other College regulations. Claims that students were not aware of College regulations to which they have agreed during the enrolment process will not be considered valid reasons for appeal. Appeals should be made via the office of the College Secretary (Secretariat@royalholloway.ac.uk) (v) If an appeal is not received within seven days the termination will be considered to have been accepted and a report summarising the case will be provided to the Principal and then to the Chair of the Student Disciplinary Committee (Appeals) for confirmation of the decision. The termination will be confirmed to the student in writing with immediate effect. (vi) Any appeals will be heard by a panel that will convene as soon as practically possible. Students will be given a minimum of 5 days written notice of the appeal hearing date and location. The decision of this panel is final and will be notified to the student in writing. 5.5 Students with tuition fee/tuition related debt will not be permitted to re-enrol/progress into another academic year until the debt is cleared in full. 5.6 Students with a tuition/tuition related debt will not receive formal transcripts, degree certificates or official references from the university. Finalist students will be prevented from attending the graduation ceremonies with tuition or tuition related fee debt. 7

5.7 Royal Holloway will pass debtor accounts to a legal recovery agent, instructing them to commence formal recovery action - including court proceedings - if appropriate. This may result in additional costs being charged to the debtor and may have an adverse impact on their ability to obtain certain financial products. 5.8 Where a student has significant difficulties in a number of areas of their College life, debts may be taken into consideration during other processes. 6. Accommodation and Additional Fees 6.1 Accommodation fees for Royal Holloway halls of residence are invoiced annually in advance and payable termly in advance, usually in the first week or billing period to which they relate. In 2014-15 these dates are; 3 rd October 2014 16 th January 2015 1 st May 2015 23 rd June 2015 6.2 Visiting students and students taking programmes of study less than one full academic year may have different dates for payments and need to refer to the instructions provided to them. 6.3 Students must make a 300 payment to accept their accommodation contract. This payment is deducted from the first accommodation invoice due and is non-refundable. 6.4 Students who have previously defaulted on accommodation fee payments may be refused a further allocation to College accommodation. 6.5 Consideration will only be given to the refund of residence fees in the following situation:- Where a student wants to vacate a room in Hall and the circumstances are agreed by Student Accommodation, the student may do so, subject to the student being responsible for the rent until that room can be re-let to another eligible person, and payment in advance of an administration charge of 100. 6.6 Students in residence who wish to change rooms will be charged an administration fee of 50. Students who change rooms on a second or subsequent occasion will be charged an administrative fee of 100 per exchange. Fees in respect of the original room, together with the administration fee, must have been paid in full before any change can be processed. An adjustment to the fees to be paid, or refunded if appropriate, will then be made by the Student Fees Office. 6.7 Withdrawing students may not have their liability for payment of Hall fees waived. Students who suspend or discontinue their studies will remain liable for the payment of Hall fees up to the date they have notified to the Student Accommodation in writing and/or the date their keys have been signed back into the appropriate Hall Reception Office, whichever is the later. 6.8 Monthly accommodation fee arrangements are not normally permitted. Exceptions may be made for scholars receiving a monthly stipend. This should be highlighted with the Student Fees Office prior to acceptance of the contract. 8

7. Failure to Pay - Accommodation and Other Fees 7.1 Students who fail to pay fees in accordance with this policy will be reminded by the Student Fees Office once the invoice, or agreement date, falls overdue. Initial contact is always made by email to the @royalholloway.ac.uk address. 7.2 A late payment charge will be applied to all invoices overdue 14 days following the agreed due date. 7.3 At this time, a further attempt will be made by the Student Fees Office to contact students. This contact may be made via email, telephone or letter (or a combination of these). 7.4 Royal Holloway will take firm action against students failing to settle accommodation invoices. Failure to pay, without prior arrangement with the Student Fees Office, within 30 days of the invoice due date will result in eviction from the room. A notice to quit letter will be issued to the occupant giving 14 days to vacate. This does not remove previous liability for the accommodation fees. 7.5 If invoices remain overdue more than 30 days after the due date, Royal Holloway will immediately pass accommodation/additional fee debts to a legal recovery agent, instructing them to commence formal recovery action - including court proceedings - if appropriate. This may result in additional costs being charged to the debtor and may have an adverse impact on their ability to obtain certain financial products. 7.6 Students with accommodation or additional fee debts after the end of the academic year must accept responsibility to clear all outstanding debt prior to the start of the new academic year. Prior to the academic year commencement, students will be directed to complete a budgeting programme with the Student Financial Advice team, who will offer guidance and may be able to offer additional financial support. 7.7 Where a student has significant difficulties in a number of areas of their College life, debts may be taken into consideration during other processes. 8. Refund of Fees 8.1 Applicant tuition deposits will only be refunded in line with the College s Admissions policy and procedures https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studyhere/undergraduate/applying/admissionspolicy. aspx (undergraduate policy) https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studyhere/postgraduate/applying/admissionspolicy.a spx (postgraduate policy) 8.2 Fee refunds occurring following withdrawal or interruption of study will only be actioned once the appropriate form has been completed by the student and department and processed into the student records system by Student Administration. 9

8.3 Refunds will only be made to the original payer and via the original method of payment. Refunds will not be issued in cash or by cheque. Any payments originating from these methods will be refunded by direct bank transfer. 8.4 Overpayments of fees will, in all cases, be offset against future due invoices held on the student s fee account before any refund will be considered. 8.5 Students may be asked for documentary evidence or confirmation of bank/payment card details to support a refund request. All refund requests should be made via the online refund request form https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/ecampus/finance/feepayments/home.aspx The Student Fees Office aim to process all refund requests between 5-15 working days. 8.6 If tuition fees paid initially by the student are subsequently paid in full (as cleared funds) by another person or body, the refund will normally be made to the student 8.7 Overpayment arising as a result of a Professional and Career Development Loan will be refunded to the original payer and not to the loan provider. It is recommended students consider using this refund towards repayment of this loan. 8.8 Any refund arising from a US federal loan will be administered in accordance within the US Department of Education or loan provider guidelines. https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studyhere/documents/pdf/federalloansrefundpolicy2 014.pdf 8.9 At certain times, the Student Fees Office may initiate refunds on accounts where no further invoices fall due. Email notification will be sent to the @royalholloway.ac.uk address following the refund. 8.10 Royal Holloway reserves the right to offset overpayments on the student account against invoices due in the subsequent academic year. 9. Royal Holloway Alumni Bursary Alumni of Royal Holloway (who have previously studied a full qualifying degree programme) will automatically become eligible for an alumni bursary for the first year of their subsequent programme. Alumni are eligible only once during their Royal Holloway career. Students on the 3 + 1 Masters scholarship are not eligible for this bursary. https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studyhere/postgraduate/feesandfunding/scholarships /alumnibursaries.aspx The bursary is paid to students via bank transfer (to a UK account only) in the December following enrolment. It may not be deducted from fee contribution to enrol. Alumni bursaries will be offset against overdue invoices prior to the December date, where applicable. 10